In the United States, well over 100 million automobiles and 50 million trucks are in use. Moreover, millions of motorboats are used at least seasonally every year. The result is a large number of vehicles that must be filled with liquid fuel, such as gasoline, oil, or a mixture of both. In the process of filling these vehicles, a small amount of gasoline is inevitably released even after the pump has been shut off. The result is a small degree of spillage of the gasoline on the ground, in the water, or onto the exterior of the vehicle. Multiply this small amount of gasoline loss for each car and truck and boat by the total number of individuals experiencing this spillage and we have an unbelievably large amount of gasoline being lost. This gasoline spillage is damaging to the environment. Both the liquid and the gasoline fumes are potentially hazardous to the environment. Moreover, such spillage of fuel is wasteful of our natural resources.
Although there exist several varieties of one-way valves for liquids, none of these specifically addresses the need to prevent gasoline leakage from common, everyday gasoline pumps.
None of the previously produced one-way valves addresses the specific problem of leakage from a conventional gasoline-dispensing pump. These previously produced one-way valves do not have dimensions that allow them to be used, without equipment modification, with a standard gasoline pump and automobile filling pipes.
It is an object of the invention to provide a one-way gas valve that allows gasoline to pass through it only when the gasoline pump is in operation.
It is a further object of the invention to provide easy adaptation within conventional gasoline dispensing pump nozzle assemblies.